Shades Release
by The Last Sythil
Summary: A new enemy appears. It's up to Skulduggery and Valkyrie to stop it. But this enemy is in a whole new league.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Drilbury Lane was quiet. Too quiet, was the thoughts rattling around in Serpentin's head. He was part of the Sanctuary in England and in all his years of living in London, all his life to be exact, no street was ever this quiet. Had he been concentrating on the environment around him, rather than talking to himself in his head, he would have heard the soft pitter patter of feet against the wet ground. Regardless of the state of the street, Serpentin had to deliver this information to the Grand Mage; it was urgent. There had been reports of ever increasing activity in the North Pole and several Sanctuary agents, two from the USA and three from Australia had gone missing. The Americans were certainly dead, their bodies had been found floating in the ocean by a fishing trawler. The Australians were still missing. When he reached the about the middle of the street, he stopped. He heard footsteps. He turned around and sighed.

"You can't keep this up" he shouted to the dark alleyway that the noise had come from.

"Oh but I can, my dear Serpentin" a voice echoed through the street.

"Show yourself!" Serpentin shouted.

"I'll be quick to the point: give me that case and I won't kill you"

"And you think I'll just 'give' you the case, in return for my own life?" Serpentin asked "Because if you are, you're sadly mistaken"

"Then, what about the life of your wife and children?" the voice came once more.

With that sentence, three figures exited the shadows in front of Serpentin, all holding knives to the throats of Serpentin's family. Serpentin's eyes widened with fear and then quickly slanted down, his eyebrows forming a V shape, with hatred.

"You're a monster" Serpentin growled.

"Try not to think of that too much" the three cloaked figures said in unison "Now give us the case"

"Is your master so cowardly that he won't show himself?" Serpentin asked, anger brimming his voice.

Serpentin suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and a sharp object at his throat. He could almost taste the darkness emanating the figure behind him.

"Of course not, he's just preoccupied with all the other formalities of the inevitable uprising" the figure behind him whispered.

A slight breeze picked up and Serpentin vaguely saw a flash of a blood red across his shoulder. This guy had blood red hair. That's not strange at all.

"The uprising?" Serpentin asked "We only got reports of small disturbances and the like coming from up there"

"Of course you have" the figure said "However, there are plans being devised that are too much for your puny human minds to comprehend. Now give me the case and they won't kill you and your family"

Serpentin hesitated. If he submitted and was found out, he would be executed for treason. If he refused, he would be killed and so would his family. Serpentin sighed and bowed his head, submissively. The figure laughed and Serpentin put down the case. The figure stepped away from him and walked out in front of him. Serpentin gave himself the mental equivalent of a smack to the face, he should have guessed just by the hair: the guy now in front of him was a Shade. The Shade picked up the case and walked over to the three who were threatening his wife and two children. The Shade turned to him and then, suddenly shot out spears of darkness into Serpentin's family, killing them.

Serpentin uttered a cry of anguish, hatred and betrayal as his family dropped to the ground. The Shade chuckled and turned to Serpentin. Serpentin in turn charged at his family's killer, fists raised, only to stumble to a halt as he went straight through the Shade. He turned around to see the Shade laughing.

"You told me they wouldn't be killed!"

"I know" the Shade replied "I said they wouldn't kill you or your family; I said nothing about me"

The Shade then suddenly vanished and reappeared next to Serpentin.

"You have been very helpful, my friend" the Shade whispered in his ear "Your efforts will not be forgotten"

The Shade then plunged a dagger into Serpentin's ribs. Serpentin let out a wordless cry as he felt himself falling and the last thing he saw was the look absolute mirth on the face of the Shade.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Valkyrie walked through the halls of the new Sanctuary, heading for the meeting room where some of the best Sanctuary agents were gathering. This had to be pretty important. Valkyrie reached the room and entered. There were some familiar faces: Frightening Jones, to her surprise Dexter Vex and Anton Shudder were there.

"Val! How good to see you" Dexter exclaimed happily, walking over to her to give her a hug.

Valkyrie accepted the hug warmly. She told him what a pleasure it was to see him again and she greeted everyone in the room. She looked around for Skulduggery but he wasn't there. The rest of the room was filled with people she had either only seen and not talked to or not seen at all. The door opened and the o Elders entered the room: Elders Ravel, Bespoke and Strom walked in. They sat down and thanked everyone for coming at such short notice.

"The reason we have called you here is because there is, currently recurring and increasing activity in the North Pole" Ravel said, grimly.

That set off a few whispers in the room. Some people looked confused; others looked like their entire family had been threatened. Ravel opened his mouth to speak again but the door opened and Valkyrie let a small smile slip; late again. Skulduggery sat down, apologizing for being late. Ravel accepted thee apology and repeated what he had said before Skulduggery came in. Skulduggery, upon hearing this news, didn't react.

"Five agents were sent up there to investigate on what was goin on and they disappeared. Two Americans and three Australians. The Americans were found a few weeks ago, their bodies covered in burns, lacerations and such. The Australians still haven't been found.

"What is up there?" Valkyrie interjected

"Shade-demons, demons that can use Necromancy, use elemental magic, shape shift use adept magic and many other forms of magic. They have been very docile for many years until now. They have been spotted on the move and have been sighted doing other things"

"They're being controlled. There is no way that they could have suddenly awoken so abruptly after being so docile. Someone is manipulating them" Skulduggery said

"We agree and so do many other Sanctuaries. An English Sanctuary agent was to deliver a briefcase filled with photos and the like of beings manipulating the demons. He never arrived. His body was found in the middle of a street and so were the bodies of his wife and children. Experts have examined the area and have all agreed that it was the work of a Shade"

Valkyrie opened her mouth to speak but Ravel answered her question before she even asked it.

"Shades are created through various ways: some are demonic spirits that emerge into corporeal form, others are Shade-demons that have evolved, in a certain sense, through continuous dark rituals and the like. This Shade was once a Shade-demon"

"What were they doing up there in the first place?" one of the crowd asked

"The Shade-demons were banished up there so they would stop causing havoc and destruction. Wards and spells were created to stop them from escaping into the rest of the world and that worked for centuries. But it seems the wards have begun to break and some have slipped through into this world"

"So who's manipulating them?" someone else asked "Would it be followers of The Faceless Ones?"

"No. As surprising as it is, The Faceless Ones hated Shade-demons and Shades. They saw them as annoying hindrances that would do nothing but get in their way. No, it's someone or something else that's manipulating the demons" Ghastly explained

"Remnants perhaps?" someone else asked

"No, Shade-demons and Shades cannot be possessed by Remnants, seeing as they are already dark spirits" said Strom

"That will be all for now. Until we call you again, stay on your toes and keep an eye and ear out for anything that could be linked to this problem" Ravel said

The room emptied but Valkyrie, Skulduggery, Ghastly, Anton and Dexter remained. The other two Elders left the room and the group that stayed turned to each other.

"Anyone have any idea on who could be controlling the Shade-demons?" Ghastly asked

"There are many power-hungry and powerful races of creatures out there so it's a hard job of deciding which races are guilty" Skulduggery answered with a shake of his head.

"Would Gordon know?" Valkyrie asked

"That's a good question but I don't think he would: this race obviously has a lot of power to be able to control the demons" Ghastly answered

"Maybe it could be Elves?" Vex asked

"That's a good idea but they're too arrogant to focus on controlling the demons" Ghastly shook his head after the answer

"I meant the other Elves" Vex frowned

"Banished to another realm, too protective of their forests to come out and too cold for them to go up there"

"There are Elves?" Valkyrie asked

"Yes: There are the Wood elves that live in woods and forests, High elves who are arrogant and vain, Sand elves who live in deserts as nomads and the last kind of elves were banished to another realm" Skulduggery explained

"What is the 'last kind' of elves called?" Valkyrie asked

"We do not talk about them, it's considered bad luck. All I can say is that they were not very nice" Skulduggery answered

With that, Skulduggery walked over to the door.

"We'll have to do this on our own. Valkyrie, you come with me, the rest of you, I have no doubt you can look after yourselves" Skulduggery and Valkyrie exited the room and walked out of the building. They got into Skulduggery's Bentley and they drove off. Valkyrie reached over to turn on the radio but Skulduggery lightly slapped her hand away.

"I told you before, I got that tuned where I want it and I don't want you to mess that up" Skulduggery said

*Hey everyone! I haven't posted anything at the end of a chapter before! Well, I'm taking my time to say that the last instalment of my Sythil Trilogy will be released after I've finished either Hidden in the Outer Rim's Shadow or this story! Keep reading!*


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The drive from Roarhaven and Haggard was a rather long and boring one. Valkyrie, when into Haggard, decided to walk back home. Skulduggery nodded and drove back off to his home to do whatever he was going to do. Valkyrie cut through the small woods in the middle of Haggard to avoid being seen by others. As she reached the middle she stopped. Something felt wrong. She stuck her hand up and felt for disturbances in the air: five disturbances. If she was living a normal life, she would have assumed that it was just a group of friends talking a walk but in this life and career she had been taught to never assume everything is okay. She turned around and suddenly there was a flash of white and an immense pain in her nose. When the light cleared she looked up to see a smiling man with crimson red hair looking down at her.

"You" the man said "You are Valkyrie Cain"

"Who wants to know?" she groaned, clutching her nose, still on the ground.

"Ah, of course where are my manners?" the man nodded "My name is Cyriix"

"Are you a Sanctuary agent or Faceless one disciple?" Valkyrie asked

"Neither" Cyriix simply answered "I work for a far greater power, so great that the Faceless Ones underestimated them and they were surprised at their skill and power"

"What power?" Valkyrie asked

She heard the crunching of twigs behind her and she stood up and turned around. Five figures appeared out of the mist. They must have been the five presences she felt. So how did Cyriix get so close without her knowing?

"You'll find out soon enough" one of them said

Valkyrie turned around and glared at Cyriix. She felt something in the air around him. Something that was dark and unnatural. Then, with sudden realisation, she stepped back.

"You're a Shade" She gasped

"Indeed I am" Cyriix said, with a bow

Whilst he was bowing, Valkyrie reached into her pocket and she used speed dial to call Skulduggery. He answered with a rather bright and chipper voice. The phone was still in her pocket.

"Haggard woods. Come. Shade here" she whispered audible enough so the Shade and his followers wouldn't hear and so Skulduggery could hear.

"I'll be right there"

She hung up and turned her attention back to the Shade who had just gotten up from his bow. She would have to stall for time so Skulduggery could get while she was still alive.

"I was wondering; is that your normal hair-colour or is it a blood red dye?"

"A rather pointless question" Cyriix replied, an annoyed expression on his face "But if you really must know it is a natural colour for all Shades. Shade-demons have the hair colours of dark blue, blood red, midnight black or snow white. It's always changing. I used to have black then white then red but when the demon becomes a Shade, the hair colour they had just before the transformation becomes their permanent hair colour"

"Why did you kill the English Sanctuary agent?" she asked

"He had evidence of someone controlling my kind. With him gone, the thought of it will stay as a rumour" Cyriix answered smiling "Serpentin Rylot was very kind to give us the case before I killed him and his family"

"You're a monster" she snarled

"You are too kind, my dear" Cyriix smiled "And you are rather pretty"

"Don't be too nice to her or she walk all over you" a voice from behind the five minions of the Shade said

Valkyrie turned around and ducked just in time as two of the minions went flying straight into the tree behind Cyriix. The other three went flying back as Skulduggery pushed them away with air. She heard chuckling and turned to see Cyriix showing an expression as if he had just seen an old friend.

"Mr Skulduggery Pleasant" Cyriix said, smiling "A pleasure to finally meet the man I have heard so much about. Well, skeleton"

"Very flattering, Mr…?" Skulduggery chuckled

"Cyriix, at your service" the Shade answered with a bow "I do hope you didn't damage my men too much: after all, the Shade-demons won't be very happy upon their own blood were almost killed"

"Those aren't Shades?" Valkyrie asked

"Of course not. That's why they've got those hoods and cloaks" Cyriix answered "And not all of the demons crawl and hop about like maniacs. Some are bipeds that look like mortals"

"Who is your master?" Skulduggery asked

"So we're skipping the pleasantries?" Cyriix asked, almost looking a little upset

"Yes we are. Who is your master, Cyriix?" Skulduggery asked again

"But I was hoping to get to know you quite a bit more than this" Cyriix frowned

"They say you can tell a lot about a man just by the way he fights" Skulduggery replied

"So we're skipping the questioning as well?"

"No. I'll beat you up and then ask you" Skulduggery answered

"Fair enough. Then let's go" Cyriix laughed

Cyriix vanished then suddenly materialised behind Skulduggery. Valkyrie went to shout a warning but he already knew it. He twisted around, foot snaking upwards and catching Cyriix on the jaw. Cyriix stumbled back and growled. He ran at Skulduggery and ducked an incoming punched and sprang upwards, fist catching Skulduggery in the ribs. Skulduggery flew upwards but then stopped in the air. Valkyrie went to help but felt something grabbing her shoulder. She spun around, pushing against the air, throwing the demon back into a tree.

"That was a mistake, young lady. Don't you know how to respect your elders?" the demon growled, throwing its cloak off.

Valkyrie wrinkled her nose in disgust. Cyriix was right about the looks of a demon with the hoods and cloaks but it looked disgusting without the covering. Its skin was a bright grey and bright pink flesh was showing in some places. Its fingers were claws and it had massive fangs that were stained with blood. Its toes were talons and it had spines down its back. The last thing she noticed about it was that it unrolled a tail with a massive sting on the end.

The demon charged at her, its massive sting readying for a strike when she clicked her fingers together, generating a spark with created a flame that grew into a fireball. She hurled the fireball at the demon and then another, which evidently slowed it down and hurt it but it still came and her. She dropped into a fighting stance and when the demon got close to her, she sent it tumbling back with a fist of shadows. She jumped on top of it and tried to pierce its rotten, disgusting heart with spears of shadow but the demon moved and the spears ended up lining themselves across the demon's arm. The demon let out a howl of pain and Valkyrie leapt off of him. She glanced at Skulduggery who was faring better than her and looked back at the demon that lunged at her.

Skulduggery twisted and jammed his hip into Cyriix and then drove a punch into his pale face. Cyriix stumbled backwards, cursing his anger and then grabbed his face with one hand and shot off rippling waves of air into Skulduggery. Skulduggery was pushed back into a tree and was about to run back at Cyriix, had it not been for the presence of the blade at Skulduggery's throat. The Shade chuckled. Skulduggery half-expected him to threaten Valkyrie with Skulduggery's life but he did nothing.

"You do realise that won't do much to me, right?" Skulduggery asked Cyriix

"If this was a normal sword, I would" Cyriix nodded "But this sword is made by my masters and it's a magical blade, like all of their blades"

"Who are they?" Skulduggery asked, suddenly serious

"No more jokes?" the Shade asked "Pity, you were a rather funny opponent"

"Are you going to kill me?" Skulduggery asked

"As pleasurable as that would be; no" Cyriix answered

"Why not?" Skulduggery asked, cocking his head to the left

"My master would be terribly displeased and I would be punished" Cyriix answered

There was a howl of anguish and they both looked at Valkyrie who had just killed the demon. The demon fell back and his body exploded into grains of black sand. Valkyrie looked at them, a kind of 'well that went well' look on her face.

"Well, I must be off" Cyriix shrugged, pointing the sword away from Skulduggery "The other four demons are dead as well, as their presence can no longer be felt"

"Tell us who your master is" Skulduggery persisted

"Because you were such a good fighter and a rather amusing opponent, I'll tell you his name" Cyriix said, smiling slightly

"What is his name, then?" Valkyrie asked

"Malekith" Cyriix answered

Before Skulduggery could open his mouth, the Shade vanished into a small puff of smoke and the two detectives were standing there silently. Skulduggery took her back to her front door and she waved him goodbye. He walked off to his house and she plopped onto the couch, her mother coming down from upstairs, Alice in her arms.

"Hello, dear, tiring day?" her mother asked

"Yep, a rather tiring day" Valkyrie answered, holding her arms out for her mother to give Alice to her. Her mother smiled and gave her baby daughter to her eldest daughter.

"Hello" Valkyrie said to her little sister "How are you?"

Her mother smiled and went into the kitchen. Valkyrie sat Alice down on her lap and talked to her about magic.

"I wonder if you're actually taking any of this in" Valkyrie asked herself. She was lucky that she had changed into her normal clothes at the Sanctuary "Please don't vomit on me"

Alice looked at her big sister with big blue eyes and looked at her as if she was trying to say _I'm not promising anything_.

Her mother came back into the living room and took Alice off her hands. Valkyrie stood up and walked up to her room. She shut the door when she got there and sighed. She lifted her shirt up and took a look at the large bruises and cuts. She grabbed one of the racks that Tanith had given her before the Remnant had possessed her and grabbed a towel. She headed downstairs, shouting to her mother that she was going to have a bath. Her mother shouted back that it was alright to have one and Valkyrie went into the bathroom. She turned on the water and put the rock into the water, making it turn yellow-ish. She stripped herself of her clothes and slipped into the nice hot water, waiting for the cut and bruises to heal.


	4. Apologies

DISCONTINUATION!

Sorry everyone who has taken an interest in these stories but they won't be updated for a long time. I' m currently working on the final of the Sythil Trilogy and some other stuff involving the Sythil name. I will finish this story and the other one but right now, the Sythil Trilogy is constantly blocking any ideas for this story. Once again, I'm very sorry. Until next time.


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